The Santos Tour Down Under was first held in 1999 and has grown year on year to become the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere.

This nine-day event brings top UCI WorldTour professional cycling teams to race on the streets of Adelaide and regional South Australia each January. Up for grabs are important UCI points and the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey.

In 2008 the Santos Tour Down Under joined the prestigious UCI WorldTour and was the first event outside cycling's traditional home of Europe to do so. The UCI WorldTour brings together the most prestigious teams and the best riders in the world to compete in the best races.

Some of the very best in road cycling have competed at the Santos Tour Down Under during its eighteen-year history. Tour de France winners Oscar Pereiro, Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre have all raced in Adelaide, alongside Aussie legends Simon Gerrans, Stuart O’Grady, Robbie McEwen, Cadel Evans and Allan Davis.

Not just a bike race, the Santos Tour Down Under is a festival of cycling, with a range of associated events and festivals that create a massive party atmosphere across South Australia. Amateur cyclists can also get involved in the action through the Subaru Breakaway Series, which gives people the chance to ride part of the UCI WorldTour race route.

The Santos Tour Down Under invites the whole state to the party by taking the race through South Australian regions. The race typically starts and concludes with exciting Adelaide city street circuits, with stages 1-5 being held in regional South Australia. The Santos Tour Down Under provides a significant contribution to the state's tourism industry and showcases the attractions of South Australia to the world through global television coverage.

14.01. / People’s Choice Classic: Adelaide - Adelaide (50,6 km)

The People's Choice Classic is the perfect opportunity to see the world's best cyclists test their skills in the East End of Adelaide.

Held on the streets of Adelaide, this closed-circuit road race is a preview to the Santos Tour Down Under and sets the tone for the week ahead.

16.01. Stage 1: Port Adelaide - Lyndoch (145,0 km)

Historic Port Adelaide will be the setting for the start of Stage 1 of the Santos Tour Down Under.

The cyclists will ride north along the Port River Expressway and out to the Barossa, taking in scenic views of pastures and vineyards on their way to the finish arch in Lyndoch.

17.01. Stage 2: Unley - Stirling (148,6 km)

Metropolitan Unley will be the setting of the start of Stage 2 of the Santos Tour Down Under.

The peloton will travel from Unley through to the Adelaide Hills, making three laps of the leafy suburb of Stirling before the race finish on Mount Barker Road.

18.01. Stage 3: Glenelg - Victor Harbor (146,5 km)

The beachside suburb of Glenelg will be in the spotlight for this varied stage which sees the peloton travel through the Fleurieu Peninsula and McLaren Vale.

The riders will take on Pennys Hill Road for the Subaru King of the Mountain points before the three-lap finishing circuit around Victor Harbor.

19.01. Stage 4: Norwood - Uraidla (128,2 km)

Cycling enthusiasts will put their skills to the test from Norwood to Uraidla on the Bupa Challenge Tour just hours before the professionals tackle the stage.

Riders will take on the famous Norton Summit for the Subaru King of the Mountain before riding uphill into Uraidla for the finish arch.

so compared to 2017 the usual Stirling finish is back in (which hopefully should help in having more than two different stage winners this year), replacing a sprint, and Paracombe was substituted by the new Uraidla hill top finish.

The startlist looks alright, here are some of the contenders (in no particular order - and discounting the fact that there are probably no real "contenders" other but Porte, Ewan and maybe Sagan):

the selection process for the UniSA team for Down Under is going on differently as initially planed:

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In 2018, some developments that Cycling Australia had hoped to initiated would see a little change in the dynamic of the UniSA team. The sport’s administrators are aiming to provide a ‘reward’ for excellence in the domestic National Road Series (NRS) by giving the winning team five places in the subsequent edition of the Tour Down Under.

That is, at least, the intention as announced last November after an “extensive review” of the NRS.

The reality, however, may be a little different. There are regulations that need to be adhered to and it involves ensuring that all riders who compete in WorldTour races are subjected to stringent doping controls. Cycling Australia was apparently reminded of this detail in March last year but, according to some closely associated with the NRS, it seems that the federation hasn’t managed this element correctly.

Roughly translated, the rules stipulate that riders should be subjected to the highest drug testing protocols in cycling for a minimum of six weeks. If they haven’t been, then sorry: no place for you in the WorldTour.

The strength of a stage race squad in January depends a lot on if it is actually an objective for anyone - and the young riders generally are much quicker to get in shape than the veterans. Egan Bernal is quite good at his best!

And then Sky has no sprinter, no WT debut for Halvorsen (the race would have suited him so well). Broken something in the hand inside of the longest finger - do you call that middle finger in english? Plan is to fly to Manchester for repairs and practice indoors.

And then Sky has no sprinter, no WT debut for Halvorsen (the race would have suited him so well). Broken something in the hand inside of the longest finger - do you call that middle finger in english? Plan is to fly to Manchester for repairs and practice indoors.

Good news for some UK fans: Freesports does not broadcast on the transmitters that serve 1/4 of the population (including me ).

I'm in an area where it does broadcast so set my freeview box to record the race last night. the first hour of the recording wasn't the cycling and when it did get to the cycling the recording finished with 60km of the race to go.

I'm in an area where it does broadcast so set my freeview box to record the race last night. the first hour of the recording wasn't the cycling and when it did get to the cycling the recording finished with 60km of the race to go.

Today's stage was recorded and shown later. This time the epg slot ran out with only 10kms to go. The same thing used to happen with Bike Channel.The secret is to record the programme that follows.Live again tonight, but the epg has re-scheduled for 90 minutes later than on Tuesday, so should be OK.

Anyhow, the Santos Bore Down Under accompanied by the sleeping draught that is Phil and Paul, equaled a mega siesta for me.Paracombe sorely missed as Ewan takes one of stages meant the puncheurs.

Paracombe sorely missed as Ewan takes one of stages meant the puncheurs.

Maybe this is a small step on the journey of him becoming the rider we thought he might be.

I must have seen him at the Worlds in Valkenburg, but it didn't stick in my mind. However I'm surely not the only one who's main first memory of him is in Firenze in the U23 race. First year in that category and he was right up there on a lumpy course. That performance though has become a millstone that I (and others?) have placed round his neck and he has never lived up to the expectations generated by that one race.

I struggle in 25° temperatures. I can't imagine what cycling in 40°+ is like.

Surely there must be a point though, what with the extreme weather protocol, where racing even just 40-50 km in very high temps is just not going to be viable or healthy. Has a stage anywhere ever been cancelled due to heat?

Wasn't there a stage in Oman in 2014 or 2015 where they did start but called it quits due to extreme heat and sand storms and no-one caring about the race anyway except for the Oman Tourist Board? Rubber tyres melting and exploding didn't help.

Ah yes, Stage 5 in 2015.

They had a heated debate, no kiddin'.

It was shortly followed by crazy snow hitting the giro, and another oven-hot ride through the fourth biggest race in the world, and ultoimately the creation of the uci's extreme weather protocol for the 2016 season.

I fear we will never see the likes of 2010's Kuurne Brussel Kuurne, with 26 riders finishing. or maybe we will, because it is easier to get off your bike yourself in a one-day race if it gets too silly for you. A fairly inconsequential luxury you don't have n stage races. Extreme weather and stage races don't mix well and require collective approaches more than one-day events. Maybe there is hope for my desire to see heroic rides braving epic challenges yet.

Wasn't there a stage in Oman in 2014 or 2015 where they did start but called it quits due to extreme heat and sand storms and no-one caring about the race anyway except for the Oman Tourist Board? Rubber tyres melting and exploding didn't help.

Ah yes, Stage 5 in 2015.

They had a heated debate, no kiddin'.

It was shortly followed by crazy snow hitting the giro, and another oven-hot ride through the fourth biggest race in the world, and ultoimately the creation of the uci's extreme weather protocol for the 2016 season.

I fear we will never see the likes of 2010's Kuurne Brussel Kuurne, with 26 riders finishing. or maybe we will, because it is easier to get off your bike yourself in a one-day race if it gets too silly for you. A fairly inconsequential luxury you don't have n stage races. Extreme weather and stage races don't mix well and require collective approaches more than one-day events. Maybe there is hope for my desire to see heroic rides braving epic challenges yet.

Generally agree but it's worth pointing out that a lot of the polemic over the Protocol so far has been the way it's been applied rather than the terms of it.

It depends on the circumstances of the day and most of the peloton riding in Oz are not used to these conditions so early in the year. Not the race's fault, I suppose, but teams don't have their full support setup on the ground, so that could be a factor too.

I was there at KBK in 2010 and though my umbrella was wrecked the moment I stepped out of my car I still say it wasn't bad enough not to race. It was ugly but not impossible.

So few riders finished that day, I think, because so many had ridden OHN the day before and the motivation wasn't there for what used to be an almost guaranteed mass sprint.

Several editions of Flemish one-dayers were cancelled due to weather conditions in the 2000s, usually due to snow, none that I can recall after they had already started. That's what made the Oman situation awkward, if I remember correctly, and also that infamous neutralisation during the Giro that effectively gave the win to Quintana.